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Dublin - Marsh's Library

We were out and about early on a sunny Saturday in Dublin and decided to head for Marsh's Library - the oldest public library in Ireland (built in 1701). We cut through the park at St. Patrick's, noting the free Wi-Fi along the way.

Tucked just around the back of the cathedral, we spotted the entrance to Marsh's Library. Given it's proximity to St. Patrick's, Jonathan Swift was a regular reader here.

The library is open rather sporadic hours which explains why it has taken us three years to get here.

We climbed the stairs to the impressive entrance.

To enter the library, you ring a bell at the side of an imposing door highlighting the librarians from the last 300 years.

Inside, photos weren't technically allowed, but the curator allowed me to take just one. These reading cages were built to lock in the readers and avoid theft.

These pictures looks like contraband, but they are actually photos of a poster placed just outside the library. Not bad ;-) The pictures definitely give you a sense of the place.

After exploring the exhibit which featured various works of science over the past several hundred years, we ducked back down the stairs and out into the street.